"Ill call back the.... By the gods, are you alright?" Theron asked as Lirien collapsed onto the ground. "Girl. Are you there? Answer me!"
Lirien sat on the ground, her expression still frozen in abject terror, before blinking then slowly looking up.
"I'm... Alive. We are all... alive." She said her throat hoarse and pained as if all the moisture had been sucked out of it all at once.
Zephyr's eyes narrowed. "Again, it happened?" he asked, taking Lirien's shoulders in his hands forcing her to focus on his face.
"W-we need to run. We need to run now!" Clumsily and hurriedly, she attempted to get up and fumbled to the door, knocking down a chair and the coat rack as she neared the door.
Zephyr grabbed her arm. "Calm down, what happened?"
"WE DON'T HAVE TIME. EVERYONE NEEDS TO RUN" she screamed.
"Theron, evacuate the village." Zephyr said, shaken slightly.
"Now hold on. What's got the lass so shaken up all of a sudden?" Theron asked with a confused, worried expression.
"If I had to guess. We died. The girl is marked like I am. Her's is a type of premonition, or something similar." Zephyr explained.
Theron's eyes widened. "There's no way we died. We are both tempest level at least. I doubt whatever we found could bring us down so easily."
"Dreadhoof." Lirien said, almost whispering.
"What did you say, lass?" Theron said with his worried expression hardening into anger.
"DREADHOOF" She screamed, her voice breaking. "So.. so much blood. They are reviving it. In its lair to the north-west. In less than four hours...."
"THIS ISN'T A FUNNY JOKE GIRL" Theron barked, slamming his fist into the table, causing it to burst into splinters.
Zephyr regaining his composer. "This isn't a joke, Theron. Whatever she saw either happened or will happen. I would be a pile of ash if not for her ability. We found traces of powerful mages. The same mages that nearly killed us the first time with the trap."
"Four hours. We have four hours," Lirien whimpered.
"That's nowhere near enough time to evacuate everyone with enough supplies to get them to Eldermere." Thereon said, falling silent, then roaring. "I REFUSE TO LET MORE PEOPLE DIE TO THIS BEAST!"
Zephyr pulled Lirien to her feet. "Look at me," he said to her in a gentle tone.
Lirien focused on Zephyr's face, and she relaxed slightly.
He then pulled out a small scroll. Go outside and use this scroll. It will send you back to Eldermere. Tell Kaelin a tempest is approaching Faldale. Theron and I will begin evacuating the town."
Lirien took a deep breath. "Understood. There are ten mages that will revive that thing. None of them will survive resurrecting it, but... it's fast. Fast enough to cross a Yuribor's graze in the blink of an eye."
Zephyr gave a pained smile. "Great. It's also fast now." Zephyr paused for a moment. "Theron. Get your best warriors ready, and gather the militia to guide the towns folks.
Theron gave a nod. "It shall be done."
Lirien unrolled the scroll and looked at it, then cleared her throat. Pouring magic into the parchment, she recited the incantation.
ᛖᚹᛟᚲᛟ ᛁᛏᛖᚱ ᚨᛞ ᛞᛟᛗᚢᛗ: ᛁᚾ ᛚᚢᚲᛖᛗ, ᛈᛖᚱ ᚢᛗᛒᚱᚨᛋ, ᛖᛏ ᚹᛖᚱᛁᛏᚨᛋ ᛟᛋᛏᛖᚾᛞᚨᛏ ᚡᛁᚨᛖ.
"Evoco Iter ad Domum: In Lucem, Per Umbras, Et Veritas Ostendat Viæ"
"I summon the path to home: Through light, through shadows, and let truth reveal the way."
The paper glowed, and the gold ink that laced the parchment began glowing, then burning, searing into the paper before the paper itself glowed an eerie blue and ignited itself.
Lirien dropped the paper, and a magic sigil flowed onto the ground around her; the glow engulfed her body, and she vanished without a trace from Faldale.
Everything went white. Or so it appeared at first. Then runes of blue, symbols she had never seen before passing her by, and the scrolls text warping all around her. Then black, and she fell solidly on a marble floor.
"Why is it so dark?" she said to herself, as if answering her call, the hall lit up. Floating crystals radiated with light, illuminating the hall. In front of her a grand staircase encased in deep purple and gold-laced carpet.
Standing up, she looked around. Behind her was an elegant double door. "That must be the exit." She bolted out, forcing the doors open to see that she was a short way up the Eldermere mountain. Glancing around, she sees that the scroll had taken her to a rather luxurious mansion. The center of the courtyard had a crystal almost identical to the one in front of the guild. A large blue crystal with a golden dragon surrounding it. It hummed with magic.
Fixated on the crystal, she wandered up to it and pressed her hand on it, feeling the smooth and warm surface of the crystal. It almost felt alive, almost as if it had a pulse. Then she blinked. In an instant, she was in the center of Eldermere. "I... what?" She said as she pulled her hand back in surprise and stumbled a few steps. "Just how many magic devices have I been blind to?" She asked herself. She turned to the guild and ran inside.
Rushing to the front desk. "Where is Kaelin? This is urgent!" Lirien said hurriedly.
The receptionist looked up in confusion. "In the back, you can go in if you need."
"Thanks~" Lirien said, rushing to the back where she saw him sipping his morning coffee. "Kaelin, A tempest approaches Faldale."
Kaelin, who was mid-sip of some coffee. Choked on it slightly before setting it aside gingerly. "Do you have any clue what you just said?" He said with a stern look.
Lirien narrowed her eyes. "Dreadhoof has returned. Zephyr and Theron are evacuating Faldale and preparing to face it. The way Zephyr reacted, it might also be stronger than before."
Kaelin was silent a moment, then pulled an ornate glass case containing what looked to be a pale blue crystal with a gold dragon surrounding it from his desk.
He picked up the crystal and began walking to the exit of the guild, into the center of the square. Lirien quickly followed.
Kaelin held the crystal near his mouth and yelled. "Listen here, you lot. A tempest approaches Faldale. Answer this summons for honor and glory!" He then tossed the crystal into the massive crystal in the center of the plaza. A few moments passed, and then your badge screamed out Kaelin's message verbatim. Another few moments pass, and dozens of beams of lights shine down all around the plaza on what Lirien had originally thought to be simple decorations on the ground. Out of those lights, people walked out. 32 in total.
Kaelin looked around. His face showing worry. "Less than expected. But this will have to do."
They all grouped around, and Kaelin looked to Lirien. "Well. Explain whats going on."
Lirien shocked at everything that happened suddenly. "Wait. Me?"
"Well, I certainly don't know the full story." Kaelin said.
Lirien seeing no way out of it stepped up. "Everyone. Just outside of Faldale, a group of cultists are currently reviving Dreadhoof. In less than four hours, it will be revived, and it will attack Faldale. The reason I know this is.... because I've seen it. I've seen what happens when they revive it and how powerful it is."
Kaelin pulled Lirien aside. "Did you just say you've seen what happens?"
Lirien pulled away. "We don't have time for this. Zephyr can explain it later."
Kaelin, now doubting everything, decided to go along with it. He pressed his palm to his face and sighed, "There you have it. We are fighting a long-dead tempest-class monster. If you're willing to join, head to the airship. We depart in 15 minutes."
"Help me get the Skywave ready. You can explain in the meantime." He said to Lirien. Gesturing for her to follow.
"Hand me your guild badge for a moment." Kaelin said his hand out. Lirien handed it to him, and he popped the back open and recited something under his breath.
"Here you are. Touch the crystal here and think the words. Skywave," he said while doing the same.
A blink later, and they were at the top of the mountain overlooking the city. Once again, next to a crystal almost identical to the one next to the guild.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to that." Lirien said still reeling from all the teleportation.
"We don't use it often due to its cost." Kaelin said, gesturing for her to follow.
Turning around, Lirien sees what seems to be a massive wooden platform with almost fish-like fins on each side, made of a golden cloth. Along the cloth hundreds, no thousands of runes in a set number of patterns. Each fin attached to metal connectors of some unknown alloy and detailed with the same incantation repeated indefinitely, it seemed.
"Jump on," he said as he leapt from the ground to what was nearly a full story high."
"What the fuck?" Lirien exclaimed, "HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO THAT?"
"Right. Your basically a civilian still. Focus your magic into your legs and jump. If you do it right, you'll jump high." Kaelin explained.
"And what if I mess it up?" Lirien asked.
"Your legs rupture and your bones break. Or you just dont go anywhere" He said stroking his beard.
"B-.." She started to protest but decided broken legs might be easier than dealing with this situation. "Well. Let's try to figure this out myself then." She focused for a moment, then muttered. "ᚠᛟᚱᛏᚨᚱᚢᛋ ᛋᚨᛚᛏᛟ: ᚨᚴᚴᛖᛚᛖᚱᛟ" Fortarus Salto: Accelero! She jumped with all her might.
In an instant, she was airborne. One, two, three stories high. Then she instantly regretted her decision, as she hadn't planned on how to land. Now flailing through the air, Kaelin saw that she was in trouble and gave a hearty laugh. "You actually did it! Zephyr was right about you," he said as he caught her one-handedly by the back of her dress shortly before she hit the deck of the Skywave.
"Th-thanks," she managed before going limp for a second.
"On your feet, we have to get this thing started." He commanded.
"How... do we do that?" She asked, pulling herself up and dusting off her dress.
"I will steer, and you're aiding by being part of the power supply," he said.
"I'm not sure I follow." She said.
"Place your hands on the metal sphere by one of the wings. Pour magic into it. Doesn't matter which one." He said while walking to a silver sphere near the center of the ship on an elevated platform.
Doing as he said, Lirien walked over to one on the port side of the craft and began pouring magic into the sphere. Slowly the fins began to glow one by one, each stirring to life and began slowly pulsing and moving up and down. Lirien looked around in awe.
"Keep that up for a few minutes while everything starts up." Kaelin said while also pouring his magic into the center sphere.
After around ten minutes, all the fins were fully glowing, and around twenty-eight people were waiting aboard. Sure enough, all of them had leapt from the ground to the ship with no trouble in the slightest.
"Lirien, that's enough power." Kaelin called from the center sphere. "We depart in five minutes. Anyone who wants off now's the time," he called out. No one budged; however, one got on last second. With that they departed from the top of the mountain, sailing over Eldermere and towards Windsong Chasm and Faldale.
Lirien walked over to Kaelin, who was still at the center sphere. "Well. Explain." He commanded.
Lirien Spent the better part of the journey catching Kaelin up to everything that happened on the way to Faldale and her encounter with Dreadhoof.
"You really expect me to believe you died and came back? That you really went back in time?" Kaelin said. Still not believing it in the slightest.
"You will see for yourself soon, I guess." Lirien said, tired of her words falling on deaf ears. "If you don't believe me, why did you do all this?" She asked him.
"Just because I don't believe something doesn't mean I won't act on it. I've been wrong in the past and won't endanger people for my own ego. It's better to waste time than waste lives."
Lirien sat silent for a moment, letting his words weigh on her for a while. "Thanks," she said, feeling much better about the situation.
The sun was now high in the sky. "Around three and a half hours have passed." Lirien said mostly to herself as she looked over the railing. Faldale was near. She could see it.
She ran over to Kaelin. "I see Faldale! We made it in time!"
"We will land near the gate. Everyone prepare to land," Kaelin announced. "
As he announced it, a large beam of dark red light shot into the sky to the northwest. The mound in the distance exploded into chunks that could be seen floating from the skywave. The chunks were pulled in, and they could see the forest from the mound to Faldale get the life sucked out of it, and the trees ripped from the ground pulled into the light. The area warped, and the miasma sucked away from the land. A towering creature made from flesh, bone, tree, and rock formed, the landscape being pulled into its being, forming something unlike Lirien had ever seen.
Kaelin ran from the center to the edge so that he could see what was happening. "That's not good. EVERYONE PREPARE FOR COMBAT," he bellowed. "PEPARE FOR IMPACT. WE ARE BRINGING THAT THING DOWN. THIS THREAT IS NO LONGER TEMPEST. THIS IS NOW A LOW CATACLYSM LEVEL THREAT. IF YOU WISH TO ABANDON THIS QUEST, JUMP OFF NOW."
He grabbed Lirien by the back of her dress. "Get down there and tell Zephyr and Theron to back us up." Then he threw her towards Faldale from the skywave, which was still several hundred meters in the sky.
Before Lirien could say anything in protest, she found herself plummeting to the ground. "If I survive this, I'm going to kill him." She thought before thinking for a moment.
Twenty seconds till impact. Thoughts of her day filled her mind. All of the teleporting, the flying, now the falling... The jump? The jump!
Fifteen seconds till impact. "ᚠᛟᚱᛏᚨᚱᚢᛋ ᚨᛗᛈᛚᛁᚠᛁᚲᛟ: ᛋᛏᚨᛗᛁᚾᚨ, ᛞᚢᚱᚨᛏᚢᛋ, ᚹᛁᚷᛟᚱ!" Fortarus Amplifico: Stamina, Duratus, Vigor!
Ten seconds till impact. Her mind wandered to the previous day, the camps, the fire, explosions, her taking care of Zephyr...
"Camp? Camp! And earth spell, right?! Will that work? Just in reverse?"
Five seconds till impact. She twisted midair to where the ground would be directly under her feet and focused her staff to hit the ground first.
Three seconds till impact. "ᛏᛖᚱᚱᚨᚾᚢᛋ ᛗᚢᛏᚨᛏᛁᛟ: ᛚᛁᚲᚢᛖᚠᚨᚲᛏᛁᛟ, ᛋᛏᚨᛒᛁᛚᛁᛟ, ᛗᛟᛚᛚᛁᛟ!" Terranus Mutatio: Liquefactio, Stabilio, Mollio!
Impact. Her staff hits the ground an instant before her, the ground liquifying as it tears through the earth, creating a soft, viscous mud, before the staff is ripped from her grip. She sinks to the bottom of almost 2 meters of mud and thuds, with enough force to throw most of the mud out of the pit she had created. A loud SPLOT echoed through the center of the town, and mud was thrown, coating the outside of all of the buildings around.
"Lirien laid there for a moment. Coated in mud and exhausted. "I'm alive," she thought to herself. "And in one piece. I think."
After a few moments, a head popped over the hole she was in. She looked up to see Zephyr with a horrified expression that quickly turned to surprise. "YOUR ALIVE?"
"Barely." She said with a tired smile.
"I-i Saw something falling from the skywave, but to think it was you! Did you fall over the railing? What happened?" Zephyr asked dumbfounded.
"Kaelin has a message. It's now a Low Cataclysm rank." She said with her tone dripping with malice.
Zephyr took a moment, then pieced together what happened. He pressed all of his fingers to his forehead before letting out a pained sigh. "He never changes." Zephyr moaned. He then clambered down into the hole to pull Lirien out.
As he pulled her out to lighten the mood, he said. "Well, good news is you definitely will never need to worry about money again, and you'll be able to negotiate a rank increase for this."
Lirien was... less than amused.
"I would say to get yourself cleaned up and rest, but it would seem we are out of time. Go and catch up to the evacuation party. This isn't a foe for you to fight. You did more than enough getting everyone here," Zephyr said to her.
"Normally I would protest, but in this case I might murder Kaelin if I see him again too soon." She said while heading to the gate with Zephyr.
Lirien walked out of the gates of Faldale to catch up with the evacuation party. After a few minutes of walking, she realized that she actually didn't know how to get back to Windsong Canyon. "Well.... I guess I'll be better off in the town than out in the field. So she turned back.
Kaelin ran back to the controls and changed the course to the Dreadhoof. The others on board were looking over the edge at the plummeting Lirien, murmuring amongst themselves. After a moment, Kaelin came to the realization of what he just did. "Oh no. I'm dead if I survive this," he thought to himself before pushing it from his mind.
"EVERYONE. GET READY TO JUMP AS WE APPROACH. WE FACE IT HEAD ON." Kaelin bellowed to the group.
One by one, each jumped off as they rapidly approached Dreadhoof. Kaelin and two mages pumped power into the Skywave, accelerating it and overloading the spheres till they all glowed a brilliant gold. The final two mages jumped off and Kaelin ripped the center sphere off the console and threw it through the center of the sky weave while leaping off himself.
"ᚠᛟᚱᛏᚨᚱᚢᛋ ᛋᚲᚢᛏᚢᛗ ᛁᚾᚹᛁᚲᛏᚨ: ᛞᚢᚱᚨᛏᚢᛋ, ᚨᛒᛋᛟᚱᛈᛏᛁᛟ, ᚱᛖᛚᛖᚨᛋᛟ!" "Fortarus Scutum Invicta: Duratus, Absorptio, Releaso!" "Invicta Aegis!" Kaelin bellowed as the Skywave impacted and erupted into a massive magical explosion engulfing the right side of Dreadhoof. Splinters of wood and metal. The fabric on each of the fins erupting into a brilliant golden fire that morphed into threads of light that wrapped around Dreadhoof, binding it in place, pulling it further into the sustained explosion. Kaelin landed with a thud. His eyes gleamed a menacing emerald. "ᚨᚴᚴᛖᛚᛖᚱᛟ" Accelero, He bolted at blinding speed toward the left foot of Dreadhoof, drawing his sword in an instant. "ᚠᛟᚱᛏᚨᚱᚢᛋ" Fortarus, He strengthened his body further, slashing at the right heel of Dreadhoof with his great sword. The next instant he fell back to the rest of the guild members that had gathered around to see the results of Kaelin's assault.
As the eruptions of the Skywave faded and the smoke cleared, Dreadhoof remained standing, its right arm crumbling from the impact, its regeneration interrupted by the intense magic wrought by the Skywave. "HEAR NOW, KEEP THE PRESSURE ON THE BEAST!" Kaelin ordered.
The twenty-eight of them gave a war cry, and the beast responded with its own cry that sounded of a natural disaster; the cry was as if wood and stone were being ripped apart and reformed. It caused a shockwave that threw many of the guild members off their feet. With it, a wave of miasma ripped through the air. The wounds it sustained now glowing, tendrils sprouting from them as if searching for life to siphon.
"Ataea, Take care of those tendrils," Kaelin barked with an unnatural prowess. Dreadhoof moved his gaze to Kaelin, recognizing his old foe. "The rest of you surround its left side. Bring the leg down." As he gave the order, a line of mages unleashed a barrage of spells, and the air hummed with magic. The warriors charge to the leg, and the tendrils react as if seeking it out by instinct, going for their weapons, grabbing them and disarming the warriors, absorbing the weapons into dreadhoof.
Ataea darted to the side, her lithe form weaving through the chaos. Her left hand glowed with a dull green hue as she drew a glyph in mid-air, speaking the incantation with practiced precision:
“ᚱᛖᚲᛏᛟ ᛏᚨᚱᚷᛖᛏᚢᛗ ᚹᛖᚾᛏᚢᚱᛁᛋ: ᛋᛖᚾᛋᚢᛗ, ᛋᛏᛁᛚᛚᛖ, ᚨᚾᛏᛁᛋ!” "Recto Targetum Venturis: Sensum, Stille, Antis!" ("Guide the target to air: Sense, Pierce, Nullify!")
The glyph rocketed to the sky, then vanished for all except Ataea. An image formed in her mind. Every angle of Dreadhoof's exterior, every injury highlighted in a purple glow to her. Every spot that was weak glowing a red, and every action it took slowed to a crawl to her.
Her fingers danced as she conjured an ethereal bow made of auric light, whispering another incantation:
“ᚠᛚᚢᛞᛁᛋ ᛋᛏᚱᛖᛏᚲᚲᛟ ᚹᛖᛞᚱᛁᚷᛖᚾᛏᛁᛋ: ᛖᛗᛁᛏᛟ, ᛞᚢᚱᚨᛏᚢᛋ, ᚲᚢᚱᚨᛏᛁᛟ!” "Fludis Strectco Vedrigentis: Emito, Duratus, Curatio!" ("Arrow of binding regeneration: Release, Harden, Sever!")
"ᚨᚴᚴᛖᛚᛖᚱᛟ" Accelero, She chanted and circled the beast. Six silvery arrows formed in the quiver on her back. Thunk, thunk, thunk. She released three in a second, hitting the massive wound from the Skywave, the tendrils writhing and retracing from it, sealing themselves inside Dreadhoof. The next three, thunk, thunk, thunk, struck the left leg of Dreadhoof in the various cuts, restricting the tendrils and causing them to retract, dropping a few of the weapons not quite absorbed yet. The silvery magic crept around like veins and spread both into the wounds and around them, forcing the affected areas to be completely vulnerable to any sort of damage.
The magical veins pulsed as Ataea focused on keeping the regeneration suppressed. "Enemy sealed Kaelin," she called out.
Kaelin roared "Focus all power on the left leg. Aim for the silver and bring down the beast. Surround it and unleash your fury! If you fall here, its over for this world." The guild members roared in unison.
"Aldric. BLOW IT APART," Kaelin ordered.
Aldric and his mages stood in perfect formation, their robes floating, crackling with ethereal might as the residual energy from their collective power rippled through the air. A massive, intricate sigil hovered above them, pulsating with blinding light and runes etched in shifting patterns of gold and crimson. The air crackled with anticipation as the spell had already reached its culmination, ready to unleash its destructive force.
Aldric raised his staff high, an old twisted wooden staff with a small crystal on its bottom. It resonated with the energy of the hovering sigil. His voice echoed out with an otherworldly authority as he spoke the final invocation:
"ᛚᚢᛪ ᛁᚷᚾᛁᛋ ᚢᛚᛏᛁᛗᚨ: ᚲᚱᛖᛟ, ᚠᛚᚨᛗᛗᚨ, ᛟᛒᛚᛁᚹᛁᛟ!" "Lux Ignis Ultima: Creo, Flamma, Oblivio!" ("Light of the Final Flame: Create, Burn, Annihilate!")
The eerie crimson sigil surged with energy and bathed the area in a dreadful glow. The runes distorted, spiraled, and formed in on themselves, forming a blazing spear. The spear started spinning, picking up speed, and crackling arcane lightning. The spinning hummed, then roared with the fury of a tornado before launching faster than the eye could see.
"Lux Ignis Ultima," Aldric roared, declaring the spell’s name as it erupted with a force that shook the ground. The sound was like a thunderclap, followed by a low hum that reverberated deep in the chests of everyone between Faldale and Eldermere.
The spear pieced the center of Dreadhoof, blowing chunks of it off, searing the sigil into the chest of the beast. The guild members around the left leg of the beast swapped from offense to avoiding getting hit by the falling chunks of Dreadhoof.
Aldric then promptly fell asleep from exhaustion, assuming his job was done. The other mages in his formation were pulling him along to safety.
Ataea poured on more arrows to prevent their work from getting undone.
As the smoke cleared, the damage was clear. The right arm, large chunks of its chest, and the front left leg, reduced to rubble.
Kaelin focused "This is going too well. Something feels off. It hasn't counterattacked." He said to himself. "What am I missing?"
A group of heavily armored warriors charged Dreadhoof's hind legs, their weapons glowing with enchantments. Among them, a burly woman named Gretta leapt up and swung her massive warhammer with tremendous force, aiming for the beast's knee. The impact echoed like thunder, and Dreadhoof let out a roar of annoyance, its massive body completely unmoved.
"It hasn't moved. Oh no. EVERYONE FALL BACK." He screamed in fear.
Suddenly, a low, menacing growl emanated from the beast. Its crimson eyes flared brighter, and dark tendrils of energy began to coil around its form. The miasma thickened further, warping the air around it. Kaelin's eyes narrowed as he recognized the shift in the magic around them. "It's tapping into its core magic! Prepare for a counterattack!"
Before he could give further orders, the ground beneath them quaked violently. Dreadhoof reared up on its hind legs, its massive horns glowing with dark energy, and slammed them into the ground. The impact sent a shockwave rippling outward, throwing everyone underneath the beast into the air. From the ground erupted spikes skewering Gretta, and her squad ripping them apart nearly instantly.
Kaelin gritted his teeth as. His emerald eyes scanned the battlefield, taking in the disarray. Several guild members were down, stunned by the force of the shockwave, others trying to help survivors from the spikes. "GET THE WOUNDED TO FALDALE!" he bellowed, his voice snapping them back into action.
Aldric woke up rather annoyed. "You seriously haven't killed this thing yet, Kaelin?"
Kaelin, gripping his greatsword tightly, shot a sharp glance toward Aldric as he barked back, "Oh, pardon me for not slaying a Cataclysmic beast single-handedly while babysitting an army! Welcome back to the fight. Maybe you can finish it for me!"
Aldric rolled his eyes, still groggy but bristling with determination. "I’ll do my part, but don’t get too comfortable with the sarcasm." He stood, brushing off dirt, and gestured to the remaining mages in his formation. "We’re not done yet. Let’s prepare another spell, something more direct this time."
Meanwhile, Kaelin turned his focus back to Dreadhoof, the beast still staring him down, unmoving its crimson-tendrilled wounds radiating malevolence. The sigil on its chest from "Lux Ignis Ultima" pulsed weakly, as if the spell’s power was barely holding back its regenerative forces.
"Why does it still feel like it's waiting for something?"
As Kaelin’s emerald eyes locked onto Dreadhoof’s unrelenting, crimson glare, he tightened his grip on his greatsword. He couldn’t shake the ominous feeling that something was still amiss. The beast wasn’t attacking, yet its presence grew heavier, its malevolence seeping into the air as if it were ink-blackening water.
"What’s it waiting for?" Kaelin muttered under his breath, scanning the battlefield. His gut twisted as the realization struck him like a hammer to the chest. "Of course. It’s waiting for them."
Just as the thought crossed his mind, the sound of faint, rapid footsteps reached his ears, cutting through the chaos of the battlefield like the sharp edge of a blade. From the decimated tree line to the southeast, a shadow darted forward with hazy speed, closing the gap to the fight in mere moments. A glint of silver caught the sunlight before disappearing into the haze of miasma.
Zephyr.
The shadow elf skidded to a halt, barely keeping his balance, beside Kaelin, his dual daggers already drawn and glowing faintly with runic light. His emerald eyes matched Kaelin’s intensity, and his lithe frame carried an aura of calculated precision. Without missing a beat, Zephyr smirked. "Looks like you started the party without me. Thought you could have all the fun, old man?"
Kaelin gave him a sideways glare, though a faint grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "You’re late. We’ve only been fighting an old friend while you were sightseeing."
Zephyr chuckled, twirling one of his daggers absentmindedly. "Yeah, yeah. Had to take a detour. You know, someone threw my apprentice from a Skywave. You wouldn't happen to know who might have done that, do you?"
Kaelin winced a bit, but before Kaelin could ask how she was, the ground trembled beneath their feet once more. From the western edge of the battlefield, a low rumble reverberated through the earth, followed by the steady thud of heavy footsteps. Emerging from the smoke and debris, a figure clad in dark iron armor approached with deliberate purpose. The sun gleamed off the polished metal, and a massive hammer rested on his shoulder.
Theron Ironheart.
The Solcaste exuded a quiet, unyielding strength, his sapphire eyes glowing faintly beneath his helm. He surveyed the scene with a grim expression before calling out, "You two always manage to get into trouble without me. Typical." His voice was steady, a calm counterbalance to the chaos around them.
Kaelin felt a weight lift off his chest at the sight of his old comrades. "Took you long enough," he called back. "Now, help me finish what we started seventy years ago."
Theron grunted, rolling his shoulders as he stepped into position. "Aye. Let’s end this once and for all."
Dreadhoof’s demeanor changed instantly, and it let out a roar that leveled the remaining trees and launched most of the guild members far back, causing most to collapse in fear. The beast’s crimson eyes flared brighter, and its tendrils lashed out violently, striking at anything within reach, scaring the landscape and bursting the spells on it. It recognized its old enemies, and its rage boiled over into unrestrained fury.
Aldric, still orchestrating his mages, turned toward Kaelin with a sharp glare. "Whatever reunion you three are having, cut it short! We’re barely holding this thing back!" He motioned toward his mages, who were struggling to maintain their formation amidst the chaos, with only three of them remaining standing.
Zephyr vanished in an instant. "I've gotten a lot stronger since we last met Bastard." In a single breath, he struck each of the remaining three legs of the beast, carving the sigil of eruption into each leg. The same type of sigil that appears only in the lost ancient text. "A special gift from the gods." In another breath, he was back to Kaelin's side. "Theron, Kaelin, your up. Stay way from the legs."
Kaelin picked up the dwarf by the strap on the back of his armor, launched them into the sky, and threw the dwarf with all his force.
"ᚠᛟᚱᛏᚨᚱᚢᛋ ᛗᛖᚨᛞᚨᛚᛚᛖᛁᚷᚷᛟ!" Theron bellowed. "Fortarus Meadalleiggo!" ("Strength of the Earth’s Forge!") The runes on his dual warhammers flared brighter, and his next swing shattered the corrupted stone encasing the beast’s left arm, sending it reeling backward.
Aldric seized the moment. "Mages, with me! It’s vulnerable—strike now!" The air above the mages shimmered as they unleashed a coordinated barrage of spells, each one aimed directly at the exposed arm.
Kaelin landed on the beast's back to strike it in an attempt to pierce the core from the back. However, the beast rotated its chest 180 degrees to face him in a disturbing display.
Dreadhoof roared again, sending more of the remaining guild members into a feared panic, its fury unrelenting as it thrashed against the coordinated assault. The tendrils lashed out in desperation, ending several of the nearby warriors, striking them through the chest and draining their vitality in an instant.
The few lives it took were enough for it to regain its right arm to an extent if you could call a giant stone spike an arm. Dreadhoof thrusted makeshift arm at Kaelin with unseeable speed, sending him flying back into the remnants of his lair. "Invicta Aegis," Kaelin called out a hair before taking the full brunt of the impact.
"Zephyr, do something here, Theron called."
"You can't rush art." Zephyr yelled back. "Or explosives." He stood up from the ground to reveal a talisman with the same sigil as he carved on the legs of Dreadhoof. Making sure no one was under the beast, Zephyr whispered and poured magic into the dark wooden and Voidglass dust-laced talisman.
"Detonate"
The battlefield erupted in a blinding flash as the sigil detonated with the force of a world's long-gone weapons. The legs of the beast and most of its body were vaporized in an instant.
"What in the great great one's names was that?" Theron asked.
Zephyr kept his gaze on Dreadhoof and replied with fear and shock in his voice. "Something that no one should know, Theron. No one should know...." his voice trailed off, his eyes haunted.
Dreadhoof cried out, the miasma pouring from it, engulfing the land, restricting visibility to the point of near total blindness.
Dreadhoof’s remaining form pulsed with a sickly crimson light, the miasma thickening and swirling violently around it. The beast let out a deep guttural roar as dark runes etched themselves into its fragmented body, glowing ominously. Its voice reverberated like the grinding of ancient stone as it chanted in a language as old as the earth itself:
"ᛗᛁᛖᚾᛞᚨᚱ ᚢᚾᚨᛗᛖᛏᛁᛋ: ᛏᚢᚱᚾᚢᛗ, ᛋᚢᛏᚱᛟ, ᛁᚾᛁᛋ!" ("Miendar Unametis: Turnum, Sutro, Inis!")
Black orbs appeared around the beast, and tendrils slowly made their way out of them at first. Then shot out to the nearest life forms in a desperate attempt to drain any vitality it could get ahold of.
Almost all of the remaining mages, including Aldric, were caught in an instant and drained, leaving nothing but lifeless husks behind. Zephyr dodged it with ease, and Theron narrowly managed to avoid it. Kaelin was just out of range of the spell. Nine of the thirty-two combatants remained. Kaelin, Theron, Zephyr, Ataea, a single apprentice mage who hid behind some rubble, and four others who retreated remained alive.
By some miracle, the life it drained wasn't enough to give it any real regeneration.
Kaelin joined them, overviewing the situation. As Dreadhoof fell over with nothing left to support its remaining body and head. Kaelin looked around, seeing the husks of his former guildmates. The mangled corpses of those impaled and those who died of the intense fear magic, their faces twisted into unrecognizable shapes. The landscape was warped, scarred, and barren. The miasma slowly fed back into the beast in its desperate attempt to reclaim enough power to move.
The trio approached the head of the beast to finish it off. Zephyr, Theron, and Kaelin began prepping the remaining form of the beast for permanent disposal. "This time we leave no remains." Theron said to the other two. The beast still giving defiant half-roars. "ᛖᚷᛟ ᚱᛖᛞᛖᛟ! ᛖᚷᛟ ᚱᛖᛞᛖᛟ!"
Zephyr took the time to inscribe runes on every inch of the beast with Theron's help. Kaelin and Ataea kept a watch for any changes in its behavior.
As Zephyr and Theron finish their work, the runes begin glowing with a dim, otherworldly light. The sigils carved into Dreadhoof's remains shift slightly, as if reacting to the words of the incantation. Zephyr stands back and focuses on the talisman containing the core of the magic. He raises his hand steady and resolute as he pours his mana into the talisman, connecting the runes.
Theron speaks in unison with Zephyr, their voices resonating with the energy of the spell. "ᛖᛏᛖᚱᚾᚨ ᛞᛁᛋᛋᛟᛚᚢᛏᛁᛟ: ᚠᛚᚢᛏᛟ, ᛁᚾᚨᚾᛁᛋ, ᚱᛖᛚᛖᚨᛋᛟ!" "Eterna Dissolutio: Scatter, Void, Release!" "Eternal Dissolution" When the final word is uttered, the runes ignite in sequence, a cascading effect as each symbol flares and disintegrates, leaving no trace behind. The air crackles with power, and the remains of Dreadhoof shimmer, turning into fine particles of light before vanishing entirely into the void. The only remaining thing a single core.
"So many deaths because I neglected that dungeon those seventy years ago," Theron said, picking up the core, wanting to crush it but finding himself unable to summon any strength. Kaelin placed his hand on Theron's shoulder. "You were a greenhorn then. You didn't know it was about to burst, or that it even would. What matters is you made it right."
"Kaelin, look around. We lost twenty-three Tempest class guild members. This was a disaster." Theron said, collapsing to the ground.
"No, this was the best outcome. This was a cataclysm-level threat. No mere Tempest. If that thing roamed freely, it would have been the end of everything. You saw how it devoured life. No Tempest monster can do that, and you know it. Not a single Civilian died either. Everyone here today knew the risk and died with honor."
"He's right, you know. If anyone messed up, it was him." Zephyr said, gesturing at Kaelin.
Kaelin flinched, "So... i-is she... ok?" He stammered.
"By the grace of her goddess somehow. There is a sizeable hole left in the middle of the road in Faldale, however." Zephyr said with a sly smile.
Kaelin breathed a sigh of relief. "Good thing she's a quick learner."
"Oh, Kaelin, my boy. You shouldn't be relaxing just yet. Let's just say you have some groveling to do soon." Zephyr chided.
"Understood...." Kaelin sighed. "Let's head back to Faldale. It's getting late." The trio, Ataea and the mage, walked together with the evening sun on their backs, their shadows long in the evening.
The stars first light approached as the five of them got back to Faldale, where they were greeted by Lirien waving from atop the gate. "ᚠᛟᚱᛏᚨᚱᚢᛋ" Fortarus, She chanted and hopped down from the gate, just barely managing to keep her balance. She ran up to Kaelin, who braced himself, ready for a punch. "ᛏᛖᚱᚱᚨᚾᚢᛋ ᛗᚢᛏᚨᛏᛁᛟ: ᛚᛁᚲᚢᛖᚠᚨᚲᛏᛁᛟ, ᛋᛏᚨᛒᛁᛚᛁᛟ, ᛗᛟᛚᛚᛁᛟ!" Lirien said, and the ground went soft under him, and he fell face first into the mud.
"I deserved that." Kaelin said, spitting out mud as he talked.
"I would do more, but I'm way too tired for that." She said.
Zephyr chimed in. "It seems to me you have plenty of energy from how you jumped from the gate."
Ignoring Zephyr's retort, Lirien asked. "Where is everyone else? Only four others came back earlier. They were too shaken to say much, even though they weren't injured."
"The rest were annihilated. Not much remains of them." Kaelin said his eyes cast downwards.
"But... weren't they all tempest rank?" Lirien said shocked at what she just heard.
"They were. This beast was far beyond what a tempest rank could handle." Theron said with pain in his voice.
"The difference between a high tempest rank monster and low cataclysm rank is that much?" She asked, falling silent near the end of the sentence.
After a short stent of silence, Zephyr spoke up. "Another time. I'll teach you another time. Ataea, you and the boy go fetch the ones in Windsong."
The two departed soon after.
"Lets prepare the victory feast now, I say." Theron said with a fake smile while he walked to his house into the cellar.
"Ill help you with that," Lirien called to him and followed.
"Shall we help?" Kaelin said to Zephyr.
"I will, but you aren't touching it. I want it to be edible after all." Zephyr half joked.
Two hours later, the town's people began pouring back in through the southern gate.
"Everyone, this way!" Lirien called, guiding people to Theron's house, where he had the tables for the feast set up.
Zephyr, Lirien, Theron, and Kaelin all got in line themselves and found a spot to sit after filling their plates. The town was buzzing with people talking. Occasionally the topic turned to complaints of having to walk so much.
"Do they realize what just happened? How many people died for them?" Lirien said angrily. Nearly on the verge of yelling.
"Settle down, girl." Theron said. "They actually don't. I never told them why they were evacuating to avoid panic. They have no idea what transpired, nor should they."
"But..." She started, "You're right. That's probably for the best."
"Speaking of things that shouldn't be said, Zephyr, what the hell did you do to that beast? You blew it apart in an instant!" Theron exclaimed!
"Oh? Unlike you to be so interested in magic! Are you ready for a riveting six-hour lecture on magical pathways?"
"Oh gods, never mind, spare me please," Theron moaned.
Lirien, however, saw through his smile and playful tone and noticed he was in pain. Not physical pain, mind you. It was the same tone he used after waking from the blast the previous day.
The four talked, ate, and drank for the next few hours, and most of the citizens returned to their homes.
"Well, it's time for me to return home, I think," Zephyr said.
"Your heading back at this hour? It's the middle of the night!" Kaelin said to him with concern.
"It's fine; make sure my apprentice gets back safely this time," he said as he pulled out a scroll identical to the one he gave Lirien earlier and began using the chant.
Lirien, sensing something abnormal about how Zephyr was acting, jumped into the spell as the scroll fell to the ground and tarted to engulf him. Both of them vanished without a trace from Faldale.
The two appeared in the hall Lirien was in earlier, and the crystals instantly whirled to life as if to great the pair. Filling the hall with a brilliant glow rather than the pale glow that occurred when she arrived in the daytime.
Zephyr, surprised by Lirien's appearance in the hall with him, pulled out a small notebook and pencil. He jotted down, "Note—the scroll can transport multiple people without is~~~..." The remaining words scrawled off as he dropped the pencil and fell to the floor.
"Zephyr, what's wrong? Get up!" Lirien called to him while shaking him.
"Q-Quiet, for gods sake. Get me to my room if you want to make yourself useful. Up the stairs, third on the right." He said barely conscious.
Lirien pulled him up onto her shoulder and began dragging him up the ornate stairs.
Once inside the room, she pulled him onto the bed, pulled his talisman and potions off him, and set them aside safely on the floor along with this overcoat.
"What's happening to you?" She asked him while he was awake.
"Aftershock. Ill explain another time. It will go away in a day or so..... I recommend leaving before it sets in. The tempest for me is just beginning," he said before falling unconscious.
"Nonsense. How could I leave you in this state?" She laughed lightly.
All was quiet for a while. Lirien pulled up a chair next to the bed and tried to relax herself. The candlelight slowly faded as did Lirien as she drifted off to sleep. As she approached the edge of sleep, a disturbance, was it in her dream? Screams? Cries for help? She couldn't place it. It grew louder and louder and louder until she bolted awake. Yet the screaming did not stop. Disoriented, she staggered to her feet and grabbed her staff and looked around for the source of the cry's with blurry eyes.
No one... Just her and... Zephyr in the room. The source of the screams was? Him? Impossible; there were far too many voices. Cries of men, women, children radiating from Zephyr. As her eyes cleared, she saw the air around him was distorted and twisted. His mouth mimicking the words of the cry's and his face writhing in pain.
She rushed over to him to try to snap him out of it. The distortion tried to force her away and push her back. She pressed against the distortion and grabbed Zephyr's shoulders, and for a brief moment she saw what he was experiencing. He was living the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of people. People being blown apart by giant metal beasts, explosions, and all sorts of weapons that she couldn't begin to comprehend. Every emotion, injury, and feeling these people went through poured into her. After what seemed to be an eternity, she was forced back, thrown to the far wall of the room.
She screamed for a few moments before realizing everything was over. For her at least. Her eyes flickered to the fading candle, and she realized that what felt like hours to her was a blip of a moment. The candle's wick hadn't even moved.
She pulled herself back into the chair slowly, too sick to move and unable to process what she saw. "Zephyr. What did you get yourself into?" She said to herself, tears flowing down her face until she fell asleep.
In her dream this night, three symbols appeared. The one from her amulet, and two others she hadn't seen before. The center was the one she was familiar with. The one that had saved her. She reached out and it whispered. Time. The one on the left she felt a sense of safety from. It moved away from her and wouldn't impart its secrets. The one on the right invoked a sense of fear. It approached Lirien and flew, threw her, and screamed. ATOMIC.
The dream and Zephyr's screams slowly faded away into a cacophony of nonsense until the morning came.